Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Blog Tour Book Review: The Star Catcher (The Star Child #3)

Magick and destiny intertwine as he fights to save his kingdom and the goddess he loves.

Her kiss…the feel of her skin…the beat of her heart…For seventeen-year-old Kellen St. James, each memory is marred by a single sentence on a lone strip of paper.
Cali has been taken…

Armed with an amulet that channels the ultimate power of Faerie, Kellen searches for his love. However, control of the amulet’s energy comes with a price, and Kellen soon learns that Cali’s captor has plans for the stone. With the threat of the Star Catcher’s evil looming above Kellen and his kingdom, he’ll have to free the Heart of Faerie and break the curse the binds the Children of Danu to the darkness. But before that, he has to find his real father, the king. No pressure, right?

Kellen and Cali will battle bewitched armies and unknown foes as they fight to stay together. Will Kellen embrace his immortal destiny? Or will his world, and the man he is fated to become, be destroyed by The Star Catcher?

Review:Protagonists: Kellen has come a long way as a character. Honestly, in the first couple books I felt that Kellen was a flat character, he was fairly perfect, and while he didn't have the perfect life, he didn't have many flaws either. However, in this installment I felt that Kellen finally gets some substance. He develops flaws and it really made his character more relateable. On the other end of things, with Cali I really loved in the last book that after she was mortal she gained some insecurities, however now that she's immortal again, she's once again lost her substance. She's an enjoyable character to read, but as a narrator and a protagonist, I feel as though she just comes off too perfect. Finally, we have Gabe. Honestly I love Gabe's chapters the best, while I felt that he acted a tad too immature for his age, I did feel he was the most realistic and most relateable out of all of the characters.

Romance: There is way too much insta-love in this series. You know, I could forgive it when Kellen and Cali fell in love almost instantaneously, chock it up to destiny and all that. I could even almost forgive Willock for falling for Cali after one night, though that attempt at a love triangle was a bit weak. This however is a bit too far. There are two insta-loves in this book, neither have to do with Kellen or Cali thank God, but still two is a bit much. Sure, one is only referenced, so it wasn't as terrible, but the one we did get to see really wasn't necessary. I feel as though I was robbed of getting to actually see romance bloom in this series, instead it just feels as though the flowers just decided to pop open.

World-Building: Okay, this timeline is so aggravatingly wonky. I mean, it really makes no sense whatsoever, but putting that and the multiple plot holes it creates aside. I love the world this author has created. I've said before that I'm a huge fan of mythology, and this book delivers that in spades, and in addition to that adds a great element of Faery Lore. Speaking of which this book really expands upon that lore and we get to see a bit more of Faery including the Dimension-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, which was pretty spooky. In addition to that there is a great villain and some really amazing developments to this story as it comes to a close.

Predictability: So, I'm a bit torn on the predictability. On the one hand, a good portion of this book is predictable, simply because of very obvious foreshadowing. Kellen gets a bad feeling about something out of nowhere, that's because something bad's gonna happen. The current narrator gets some advice, that exact advice comes in to play fairly shortly after. On the other hand though, there are just amazing twists. Things that come so out of the blue, yet I'm not mad because it's revelation just adds so much depth to the story. So it's hard to really know how I feel about this, just know that it's an amalgam of good and bad predictability.

Ending: I loved this ending. First off we get some great resolution to the story, then, on top of that there's an amazing epilogue that, while surprisingly not needed for me, was something that I absolutely adored. It was a great bit of something extra that really made me smile and made the story and the characters end in a great place. I was excited to see how everything turned out and while I feel as though there may have been a character or two missing from the last few chapters and epilogue, I'm not left with too many questions.

Rating:

While it may seem that I was a bit harsh on this book, it's because I've spent the past few days so invested in this world and while this series has aggravated me to no end, I really did enjoy it. I found this book to be my favorite, and it really was a great end to a, how shall I say, interesting series.

About the Author:

Stephanie Keyes has been addicted to Fantasy since she discovered T.H. White as a child and started drumming up incredible journeys in her head. Today, she's still doing the same thing, except now she gets to share those ideas with readers!

When she's not writing, Stephanie is also a graphic designer, international speaker, teacher, musician, avid reader, and Mom to two little boys who constantly keep her on her toes. In addition, she's best friend to her incredible husband of eleven years.

Mrs. Keyes holds an undergraduate degree in Business and Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University and a M.Ed. from Duquesne University. She is a member of the Society For Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), as well as a featured author in the global group of writers, Love a Happy Ending.com.

Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which currently includes The Star Child, After Faerie, The Fallen Stars, and the soon to-be-released finale, The Star Catcher (November 2013), all from by Inkspell Publishing. Mrs. Keyes is hard at work on a new YA Paranormal Romance.

1 comment:

Zach,Thank you so much for taking the time to write and honest and thorough review of The Star Catcher. I'm so pleased you stuck with me through the series. I'll definitely be back for your viewpoint on other reads!

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According to the FTC, I must point out that all the books reviewed on my blog were; purchased by myself, borrowed from the library, won in a giveaway, or received from the author or publisher in exchange for an honest review. All reviews on books received from the author or publisher will be clearly stated, if not then they were purchased by me. I do not receive or accept compensation for writing reviews.